A film deposition apparatus which forms a film on a substrate, for example, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus has been proposed in the related art. The film deposition apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a reaction chamber configure to form a film on a substrate, a cleaning gas supply means provided outside the reaction chamber, and a remote plasma discharge device. The remote plasma discharge device and the reaction chamber are connected with each other by a pipe.
The cleaning gas supply means supplies a cleaning gas (for example, NF3) to the remote plasma discharge device.
The remote plasma discharge device generates plasma from the supplied cleaning gas, the generated plasma is introduced into the reaction chamber to vaporize deposits in the reaction chamber, and is discharged by a vacuum pump.
In the pipe that connects the remote plasma discharge device and the reaction chamber, the plasma may react with the pipe to make particles be deposited thereon. For example, when the pipe is made of an aluminum member and the cleaning gas is made of NF3, aluminum fluoride may be generated and particles are deposited on the pipe.
In consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is an object to provide an aspect of disclosure of a film deposition apparatus which may prevent deposition of particles in a path through which a cleaning gas is supplied to a chamber, and a method for cleaning the film deposition apparatus.
According to an aspect of disclosure, there is provided a film deposition apparatus comprising: a chamber configured to form a film on a substrate; a supply pipe configured to supply a cleaning gas to the chamber; a plasma generation unit which is provided in the supply pipe to generate plasma from the cleaning gas; temperature control unit configured to control temperature of the supply pipe to a predefined temperature or higher; and a supply unit configured to supply the plasma generated by the plasma generation unit to the chamber each time when a preset time of 36 hours or less passes.
According to another aspect of the film deposition apparatus, the predefined temperature is 100° C., and the temperature control unit controls driving of the plasma generation unit so that temperature of the generated plasma reaches 100° C. or higher.
According to another aspect of the film deposition apparatus, the predefined temperature is 100° C., the supply pipe is provided with a heater, and the temperature control unit controls driving of the heater.
According to another aspect of the film deposition apparatus in the present invention, the time of 36 hours or less is 5 to 36 hours.
According to an aspect of disclosure, there is a method for cleaning a film deposition apparatus in which, after forming a film on a substrate installed in a chamber, plasma is generated from a cleaning gas by a plasma generation unit, and the generated plasma is supplied to the chamber through a supply pipe to clean the supply pipe. The method further comprises the processes of controlling temperature of the supply pipe so that the temperature of the supply pipe is a predefined temperature or higher, and supplying the plasma generated by the plasma generation unit to the chamber each time when a preset time of 36 hours or less passes.
According to the film deposition apparatus and the method for cleaning the film deposition apparatus, the temperature of the supply pipe is set to temperature at which particles are not deposited, and cleaning is performed for 36 hours or less from the end of the previous cleaning, so that the gas in the supply pipe is discharged.
According to the film deposition apparatus, the temperature of the plasma generated by the plasma generation unit is set to be 100° C. or higher, so that the temperature of the supply pipe is going to be 100° C. or higher.
According to the film deposition apparatus, the supply pipe is heated by the heater, and the temperature of the supply pipe is set to be 100° C. or higher.
According to the film deposition apparatus, the substances such as gas in the supply pipe are discharged at an interval of 5 to 36 hours.
In accordance with the film deposition apparatus and the method for cleaning the film deposition apparatus, the temperature of the supply pipe is set to the temperature at which the particles are not deposited. In addition, the cleaning is performed for 36 hours or less from the end of the previous cleaning, such that it is possible to discharge the substances in the supply pipe, before the deposition of particles is too apparent.
The above and further objects and features will more fully be apparent from the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.